Jacket waybill



Aug. 18, 1925. 1,549,986

G. L. JONES JACKET WAYBILL Filed Dec. 51 92 s Sheet-Sheet 1 G. L. JONES JACKET WAYBILL Aug. 18, 1925. 1,549,986

Filed Dec. 51 1924 Swee 5 Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

1,549,986 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. JONES, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

JACKET WAYIBILL.

Application filed December 31, 1924. Serial No..759,031.

To (all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE L. JoNEs, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of'Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Jacket VVaybills, of which the following is a specification.

In accordance with the prevailing practice in shipping by freight, each shipmentis accompanied by a way-bill which is placed in the hands of the freight conductor. This way bill is accompanied by other documents referred to herein as freight bill parts which contain the same data duplicated thereon for various purposes as the freight bill, arrival notice, delivery receipt, cashiers memorandum and the like, and on the back of the way bill is a diagram or blank with spaces for the yard stamps and junction stamps, 7 recording the time of arrival of the car at the.

various points of record through which they pass in transit. These way bills and other documents which accompany the way bills, are formed in a rinted strip ofblanks which is of the widti of the entire set of blanks placed side by side and fan-folded laterally so that the way bill overlies the.

freight bill, the delivery receipt, the arrival receipt, etc., and for convenience in handling in the fan-fold typewriter, the entire strip is fan-folded longitudinally, each section of the longitudinal fan-fold'comprising a complete set of documents which are made out in the machine simultaneously by the use of carbons between the lateral fan-folds and torn off at the fold when writing is completed, the carbons being removed, thus forming one complete way bill with the various duplicates connected therewith in registration by a lateral fan-fold arrange-.

ment. p

An important feature of the'prior art is that in order to apply the yard stamps to the back of the way bill which record forms an essential part of the Way bill, it is necessary. in accordance with the present practiceto unfold the documents at each point of record. The handling of the documents in this way by the freight conductors and yard men under the conditions presented, i. e., in the open'air with wind, rain, etc, results not only in disfigurement but. in partial destruction by rubbing, blurring and tearing at the folds or elsewhere, so that portions are often lost and parts of the documents are always illegible or readable with difliculty suitable for handling by clerks and agents at forwarding and receiving stations and by yard clerks, yard masters and conductors when the way bill accompanies the shipment on route and to protect in every way and to preserve and keep intact the freight bill and other accompanying documents which for economical reasons are pre ared at the same writing with and as duplicates of the way bill. Preferably the documents accompanying the Way bill, i. e., the freight bill, etc, are in lateral fan-fold form and the entire set of documents is formed in strips or webs of indefinite length on which the blanks are printed in repetition end to end. These, are fan-folded longitudinally, so that they may be fed toa fan-fold typewriting machine automatically and written simultaneously, each set of documents being torn off after writing. 5 I v The improved form of way bill is a flat tubular document having the usual way bill printed in blank upon one outside surface which will be referred to herein as the front or face of the way .bill, and on the back outside surface of the tube is printed a form including spaces for yard and junction stamps.

The jacket way bill thus described is intended to contain and protect the documents of the same set relating to the same shipment and containing duplicate data preferably written or typewritten at the same time, i. e., the freight bill, arrival notice, cashiers memorandum, delivery receipt and the like which may be fan-folded laterally to a-width a little less than that of the tubular jacket way bill and placed inside the jacket, the provision of the yard stamp blanks on the back of the way bill jacket making it unnecessary to remove the docu- -ments from the jacket or in any way disto advantage be fan-folded both longitudinally and laterally and written by means of carbons simultaneously with the way bill, both the tubular waybill and the fan-fold duplicates being torn off in corresponding sections, as written on the fan-fold machine. The carbon sheets being removed from between the documents, the fan-folded freight bill and other duplicates are placed in the way bill jacket when the document is ready to be placed in the hands of the conductor, and the duplicates which for economical purposes are preferably of light, cheap paper, need not be disturbed until the goods reach their destination, the yard records which are made en route being stamped on the back outside surface of the jacket as aforesaid, and the face of the bill appearing on the front outside surface of the jacket.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated a jacket way bill and duplicates together with method of handling the same on a fan-folding nachine in accordance with my invention.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective View of the way bill. showing the front thereof and broken away to show the underlying documents containing duplicate data as a freight bill, cashiers memorandum and the like.

Figure 2 is an elevation on a reduced scale showing the front only of the way bill jacket.

Fi ure 3 is a corresponding elevation showing the back of the way bill jacket.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the complete way bill, i. e., the jacket containing the duplicates in the nature of freight bill, cashiers memorandum, etc. therein. I

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5, 5,

Figure 7, showing fan-folded duplicates and the way bill jacket assembled with carbon sheets ready for writing, the duplicates being outside. of and back of or under the jacket.

Figure 6 is a perspective showing a single set of documents containing data which is a duplicate of that on the way bill. These are in the nature of freight bill, cashiers memorandum, delivery receipt and arrival notice, famfolded laterally and partially opened up for purposes of illustration.

Figure 7 is a perspective view illustrating in a general way a fan-fold typewriter to which are being fed a longitudinally fanfolded tubular web composed of successive way bill jackets in accordance with my invention, the blanks being printed thereon in succession end to end, anda set of freight bill, cashiers memorandum, delivery receipt, arrival receipt, blanks which are fanfolded both laterally and longitudinally so that they may be written in sets, one duplicating each way bill jacket.

Figure 8 is a transverse section on the line 8, 8 of Figure 7 showing the laterally fanfolded freight bill, cashiers memorandum, delivery receipt, arrival notice, etc.

Figure '9 is a section on the line 9, 9 of Figure 7, showing the tubular way bill blank.-

Figure 10"is a section on the line 10, 10 of Figure 7 showing a way bill and a set of duplicates, freight 'bill, arrival notice, etc. in the arrangement which they assume after writing, the carbon sheets having been removed from between the papers and the duplicates being outside the way bill ready for rearrangement.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the different figures, the way bill or way bill jacket 1, as shown, is in the form of a tubular member formed of paper which may be slightly transparent, so that it is easy to check up and note whether the freight bill therein relates to the same shipment as the way bill. This flat tubular jacket, in its final form, when completely written, is fiat and of longitudinal and lateral dimensions equal to those of the way bills now in use or of any convenient size, and is open at both ends, i. e., the top 2 and the bottom 3, and it has printing on the front as shown constituting the subjectmatter 5 of the usual way bill blank and on the outside surface of the rear wall 6 of the tube with ablank 9 providing spaces for the imprint of the yard stamps and junction stamps and so designated by printing 7 and 8.

This jacket as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is intended to hold and in the complete form of the document as written and assembled holds the freight bill, oashiers memorandum, delivery receipt and arrival notice and the like, containing in duplicate the typewritten data on the way bill or the portions of it considered relevant for this purpose which may be determined by'the shape of the carbon strips placed between the blanks in writing. These duplicate documents, i. e., freight bill, cashiers memorandum, etc. are shown in fan-folded form partially opened up for purposes of illustration in Figure 6, including freight bill 10, cash iers memorandum 11, delivery receipt 11, arrival notice 12.

The jacket way bill and duplicates or parts which are the subject of this invention may be combined with carbon strips as in Figure 5, and written in the form of a single document with duplicates, and assembled as in Figure 1. The freight bill 10, cashiers memorandum 11, arrival notice 12, etc. may be fan-folded within the jacket or otherwise arranged. In the referred form of the invention the way bil jacket blanks are in the form of an elongated tubular web 15 having the way bill blanks and junction stamp blanks printed on the face and'back thereof respectively in endless repetition longitudinally. This tube,"Figure 7, is fanfoldedas at 16, the blanks being placed end to end preferably top and bottom, each blank forming a single fold, as shown, and the duplicate documents or parts 10,. 11, 12 which may to advantage be made of thin cheap paper, are preferably produced in sets of freight bill, cashiers memorandum, etc. side by side and fan-folded laterally as shown in Figure 6, and are made in the form of an indefinitely long web 18 having the blanks end to end and fan-folded longitudinally as shown in Figure 7.. Both these webs 15,and 18 are adapted to be fed to the fan-fold machine together with the tubular fan-folded way bill web 15. The machine other duplicates 11, 12, etC.'ll'l any suitable manner as in Figure 5, preferably in accordance with the operation of the'usual fan-fold" machine. These are placed and removed in accordance with the operation of the machine and automaticaly placed in registration with the next set of documents to be written. This matter of handling the carbon sheets is not regarded as a feature of the invention but as a feature of the present commercial type of fan-fold machines not fully illustrated.

In the regular operation of the machine each tubular jacket 1 is typewritten in'the form of the way bill containing the data relating to any particular shipment, and the corresponding duplicates or parts 10, 11 and 12 in the form of freight bill and cashiers memorandum, etc. are produced at the same time by the carbons placed automatically between the blanks and automatically removed in the operation ofthe machine, and after each'particular set of documents is written, it is fed forward out of the machine and torn or cut off from the respective webs at the predetermined length, as illustrated at 20 in Figure 7, the reference character 20 indicating a set of documents including a way bill and duplicates 10, 11 and 12 in the operation of cutting or tearing from the webs 15 and 18. When the set of documents is thus severed from the.

webs, the carbon sheets 21, having been removed from between the respective documents either in accordance'with the automatic operation of the machine or by hand,

poses of such examination, and the I the way bill and documents 10, 11 .and 12 are then assembled as shown in Figurevl, 'with or without any suitable clip or fastening to hold the papers in place against possible loss. The way bill and duplicates thus assembled are then placed in the hands of the freight conductor in charge of the particular shipment The way bill travels with the goods and the data'as to time of arrival of the car at various yards or stations en route is stamped on the back face of the fiat tubular jacket by means of yard stamps, the stamps being placed in the spaces indicated by reference character 9, Figure 3, and the junction stamps in the spaces 22 in the same figure, making it wholly unnecessary to remove or disarrange in any way the contents of the jacket in the nature of duplicate documents 10, 11, 12 or any documents which may be sent with the way bill. On the arrival of'the goods at their destination, the way bill is delivered to the freight agent and the documents are separated, treated and distributed in accordance with the regular practice. If there is any uncertainty on the part of the freight conductor as to. Whether he has in charge the duplicates 0r freight bill which corresponds to the way bill typewritten and printed on the jacket,

this can be determined without disturbing the arrangement of the documents, as the jacket may be made transparent, which sufiiciently discloses the freight bill for the purpaper composingthe jacket should be sufliciently tough to resist handling. The duplicates, freight bill, etc. may be made of comparatively cheap light paper. 7

The jacket way bill has the advantages in addition to those appearing from the description, that being open at both ends in its completed condition, carbon sheets may be easily inserted between the various documents and the notations on the way bill thus reproduced on all of. the freight bill parts contained in the jacket. This is of particular advantage in case the contents of the car are transferred en route or the car is diverted. The number of the car and the destination being thus necessarily changed on the way bill, and these changes of car contents or transfer freight will likewise neces sitate the revision of the way bill and accompanying documents as to the, weight, rate and advances prepaid and other parts. This can be done by inserting carbon paper between the parts and writing on the way bill.

, Many railroads now prepare only the way bill at forwarding'stations, and when the way bill reaches its destination and that of the freight, the freight bill parts are prepared. This double effort and expense vis saved by the present device which affords protection to the fan-fold freight bill in travelling with the way bill, making it entirely feasible to prepare the way bill and freight bill and freight bill parts simultane ously with the way bill, saving the'duplication of effort.

I have thus described specifically and in detail a jacket way bill and duplicates embodying my invention in the preferred form and method of producing and operating the same in accordance with my invention, the details of the description being specifically stated in order that the nature and operation of the device may be clearly under-- and having freight bill and other Way bill parts printed in sets in registration and repeated along the length of the web, and spaced correspondingly to the spacing of the way bill blanks.

2. An elongated tubular web having way bill blanks on one outside surface in longitudinal repetition and spaces for yard stamps on the other side correspondingly repeated, and acorresponding slightly narrower web of multiple thicknessadapted to fit inside the tube and having freight bill and other Way bill parts, etc. printed in registration and repeated longitudinally of the web, and spaced correspondingly to the spacing of the way bill blanks, the respective webs being fan folded longitudinally.

v 3. An elongated tubular web having way bill blanks repeated longitudinally of the web on one side and corresponding yard stamp blanks on the other side and a web of multiple thicknesses having freight bill and other way bill parts printed side by side and repeated longitudinally, and spaced correspondingly to the spacing of the Way bill blanks, the respective webs being fa'nfolded longitudinally, and the web containing the freight bill, and other freight bill parts being also fan-folded laterally.

4. The method of preparing a Way bill and producing duplicate data on freight bills and the like which consists in producing way bill blanks and yard stamp blanks in repetition longitudinally of an elongated tube having the freight bill blanks on one outside surface of the tube and the,v yard stamp blanks on the other outside, surface of the tube, providing an elongated web of multiple thicknesses comprising freight bill and other freight waybill parts to receive data which is in duplicate of that on the way bill, the second Web being adapted to fit inside the first, feeding both said webs simultaneously in registration with each other to a typewriting machine, placing carbons between the blanks to be duplicated, inscribing the desired data on each Way bill blank as presented and duplicating it on the other blanks, removing the carbons of the freight bill parts, withdrawing the portion of the document corresponding to a single way bill and parts as thus written from the machine, and severing each section of both webs correspond.

ing to a single document and duplicates, and placing the duplicates insidethe jacket.

5. An elongated tubular web of paper having Waybill blanks printed in repetition longitudinally of the Web on one outside surface and yard stamp blanks on the opposite outside surface in corresponding repetition, the same being adapted tobe separated into a succession of tubular waybill blanks with yard stamp blanks on the back.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland, this 29 day of December 1924.

GEORGE L. JONES. 

